Cher Ami
by Red Wolf IRL
Summary: I thought I saw it all. But nothing was ever worse than watching the Hun charging through the forest. With their pill boxes and machine guns. We were confident that we would defeat them. Midway through the battle, we thought we would all be killed by the Germans. If it weren't for the works of Cher Ami, what we thought would become reality.
1. Prologue

Behind the artillery, the gunshots, the fire, the gas, the trenches, behind the horrors of the War to End All Wars, there was light, hope and peace. My name is Charles Whittlesey. I served in what many people call, 'The Lost Battalion' I am one of the rescued. The rescued of friendly fire artillery bombing. Though it was no man that rescued me. No such man on Earth would be able for the task. Hence what saved me along with over 200 Americans, was a pigeon. A pigeon by the name of Cher Ami. Cher Ami was a creation of God Himself. No such earthly creature could accomplish what Cher Ami had no matter the reward. The Argonne Offensive of 1918 spelt certain doom for us all. Little did we know the miracles that Cher Ami could perform. I was after serving in this war for two years. Over time I've been promoted to Major. I thought I saw it all. But nothing was ever worse than watching the Hun charging through the forest. With their pill boxes and machine guns. We were confident that we would defeat them. Midway through the battle we thought we would all be killed by the Germans. If it weren't for the works of Cher Ami, what we thought would become reality. The Germans would have won the war and the Iron Cross would be flying as our flags. Again, my name is Major Charles Whittlesey. And this is my story.


	2. Preparation for the Attack

The war has been going on for four years now. I've only served here for two however. We have been planning an attack on the Hun for a while. With me being major, I have the privilege of knowing all this information. We received a pigeon from HQ telling us to carry out the attack sometime near the end of September. The Offensive would last over a month. Word had spread to us about the success of the 369th Infantry. 'The Harlem Hell fighters' This infantry was set up to fail so if they could succeed, then so should we.

The attack was planned to charge to Argonne Forest in France. To get there though, we would need to plough through the Jerry's defences. I will admit, even though I considered myself brave and courageous, I was still terrified of executing this attack. We were digging right into the core of the Hun. It was not going to be an easy task. There was the very chance I could get shot with a bolt action rifle or mowed down by a machine gun. Bombed by artillery, burned by a flame trooper. I've never seen one of those in action before and I hope to keep that up. I have heard terrible stories about people who've been singed to ashes in an instant! I'm just glad to know that we have the spirit of Liberty on our side to help us in battle. Some people say it has no protection against these monsters. What I think? Well I'm just glad that I can pledge allegiance to the flag and fight for my country. President Wilson salutes us all.

The commander put me in charge of carrying a pigeon. We received this pigeon from the British. They say the pigeon is called 'Cher Ami' meaning 'Dear Friend' in French. If ever we are in danger, all I must do is write the message and release her. She'll deliver the distress call calling in either extra troops or artillery bombing. I've never seen Argonne forest with my own eyes, but Commander Johnson claims that the forest is too compact to bring our tanks through. Planes won't be able to fly overhead as it always is foggy causing them to be vulnerable to crashing. This put us at a large disadvantage under the Germans. In the forest, from what I've heard, the Jerrys have pill boxes and machine gun turrets dotted around the glade. We just need to be courageous and not cowardly. Brave and not foolish. Smart and not stupid. With God and Liberty on our side, I am almost certain we will succeed.


	3. Commander Johnson

Commander Johnson was a stern, cold hearted soul. He will push his soldiers on to fight till they were all dead. He is possibly the least sociable person anyone would ever meet. I've heard he's had a miserable life however, which explains his wrong doings. He used to live in Amiens, yes, the city of Amiens in war-torn France. His family was murdered by the Germans along with pretty much the whole population of Amiens. Apparently, the Brits hold it now but God only knows how long it will stay that way.

Ever since his entire family was murdered, Johnson swore upon their graves to get his revenge, whether he dies or not. I feel sorrow for him, yet I still don't like him overseeing what I do and what I don't do. At any given moment, he could order us to charge over the trench lines just outside our main base. The worst order a soldier could receive.

Johnson had informed me about the scouts he sent to the Meuse Argonne to find out where the defences are and where their weak spots are. This nearly made us even with the Hun. However, they may still contain hidden defences that could demolish an army within minutes. So far, all the scouting missions have been successful. This final one however, has yet to begin. For some reason, Johnson chooses who goes on the scouting missions. No matter if you have never done a scouting mission before or if scouting is your life, if he chose you, you had to go. Johnson had chosen me…


	4. The Scouting Mission

I was shocked, terrified, petrified. I had never gone on a scouting mission before. I was Major! I never should have done something such as this! Whether I liked it or not, however, I had to go. Johnson had introduced me to the other four soldiers who were joining me on this mission. Only one of them was a true scout. The rest were just regular soldiers who had never done this sort of thing before in their lives. I was apparently the leader of the squad as I was the highest rank. Major. The scout had walked up to me and shook my hand. "Pritchard" he told me. "I am Pritchard. This is Dodson, Chase and Blackburn. Welcome to squad INK."

Pritchard had led us all to a scout car with the American emblem painted onto the side. The car had two front seats, a small flatbed with a machine gun on the top and two seats on the flatbed. Pritchard was the driver, Chase and Blackburn were at the back, Dodson was at the machine gun and I was in the passenger seat. "CHARGE!" Dodson shouted whilst firing machine gun rounds into the air. "Dodson! You're going to get us all killed!" Pritchard shouted at him very loudly. I could tell Dodson wasn't a very educated man. Judging not only by his appearance but also by the way he talked he came from a poor family in New York. You could tell from the accent.

Pritchard had almost immediately stomped his foot on the pedal and drove off towards The Meuse Argonne. When we approached the wood, he began driving slowly, with more caution. Fearing that we could get shot down at any moment, I, along with Blackburn, ducked our heads down. "Oh raise your heads will you. They're not going to see us." Pritchard said to us in a calm yet stern voice. Whilst that was going on I heard a screeching from the tires which sounded very unpleasant. Then, at that very moment, the tire burst. Causing us all to go flying out of the vehicle at least two feet. When we all landed, I checked to see if everyone was safe. Everyone except for one was accounted for. Just then the car exploded in a fiery glaze. "Surely the Jerrys heard that." I murmured to myself. I thought we were all going to die, right there and then. However, it was only one of us that failed to survive the accident, well, the aftermath of the crash. Not the explosion, but the Jerrys.


	5. Demons on Earth

I was stunned, the fall onto the ground nearly knocked me unconscious. I was still lying on the ground trying to get a feel for my surroundings. When I did, I stayed low in order to stay out of sight from the Fritz. After around five to ten minutes of lying down on the ground I considered rising up. Then I immediately went back down again as I heard German voices talking, approaching the blown-up vehicle. I assumed that all the other squad members were hiding also as I couldn't see them. Then I heard a voice, from a distance as there was no one near me. An American voice. "Stay away you monsters!" the voice said. I immediately recognized the voice. It was the voice of Blackburn. "Please don't! I have a family!" Blackburn hollered at the Germans as if he was drawing attention to himself. "P-p-p-please. Sp-sp-sp-spare m-m-me." Blackburn was weeping now. I could hear it very clearly now as he was sobbing so loudly. "P-p-p-please…" Blackburn cried again.

I managed to safely rise my head above the grass enough so I could see what was happening. Blackburn was kneeling on the ground, head down, weeping endlessly. There was about five Germans there. One just pulling out a revolver. Pointing it at the head of Blackburn. Even I was shedding tears, I don't often do so. "P-p-p-ple-e-eas-s-se…" He sobbed once more. Then, what came after that was a gunshot. Presumably from the German's revolver and Blackburn collapsing onto the ground. His lifeless body just laid there, knowing it would have no proper burial session. The body will be there till it rots in the ground. I now burst into tears, weeping and sobbing endlessly. It took Pritchard to come and help me stop myself. What I just witnessed was demons on earth.


End file.
